Saturday, 18 October 2008

What have the Romans ever done for us?

or...what has Labour done since getting elected and ousting the Lib Dems in 2006? Let's look at Labour's manifesto commitments in Lambeth, and see if they have met them, and what Labour inherited from the Lib Dem administration.

1. Your Council Tax kept down

Under LabourIn the 2 years since Labour came to power, council tax in Lambeth has only gone up in line with inflation. In the next 2 years, it will be lower or frozen if possible.

Under the Lib DemsThe Lib Dems raised council tax by 40% when they were in power – adding around £1,000 to your council tax bill.

2. Your safety improved

Under LabourLabour has introduced safer neighbourhood teams into each ward in Lambeth, including Stockwell, as promised. We cracked down on drug dealers in Brixton and in the last 12 months, violent crime in Lambeth has gone down by 50%. We're tackling the long term causes of crime by trebling the funding for youth services.

Under the Lib DemsThe Lib Dems were soft on crime, opposing measures to tackle criminals, and being on soft on drugs. They even let a fraudster walk off with £3 million of council money – and even tried to hush up allegations when one of their own councillors was caught stealing public money.

3. Your street bright and cleanUnder LabourLabour is doubling the investment to repair roads and pavements. The number of street sweepers in Lambeth is going up and there are new street lights across the borough, including in Stockwell.

Under the Lib DemsPavements were left cracked and dangerous, and potholes were not repaired. They wasted millions on buying luxury office blocks and paying off staff, instead of repairing pavements and keeping the borough safe and clean.

4. Your child given the best start in life

Under Labour3 new schools have been built in Lambeth, and major repairs and refurbishments are happening - including to schools like Stockwell Park High School. Labour introduced the first ever Youth Mayor for Lambeth, elected and with a budget to spend on the services that young people want.

Under the Lib Dems500 children were not allocated a school at all, a problem Labour sorted. The Lib Dems had the worst funded youth service in London.

5. Your environment greener

Under LabourLabour expanded recycling in Lambeth, so you can now recycle more waste, like household food packaging. Lambeth now has the toughest carbon reduction targets in London.

Under the Lib DemsThe Lib Dems tried to limit your recycling options until Labour forced them to offer both orange sacks and green boxes. They slipped 60% behind the best councils and didn't let us recycle items that residents in other boroughs could and cut the regular garden waste recycling service.

Labour also had a separate housing manifesto - to make all homes in Lambeth safe, warm and dry. Under the Lib Dems, 10,000 homes didn't meet the decent homes standard. Labour has introduced a new management team - the ALMO called Lambeth Living to bring in £240 million of extra funding to make sure this happens.

We aren't complacent about life in Lambeth, but it's clear that things are better under Labour, and would be much worse under the Lib Dems.

About this Blog

This site was set up by people who want to stand up for Stockwell. It has community information about Stockwell as well as news from your Labour action team- Alex Bigham, Guilherme Rosa and Imogen Walker.